Page 25 of Outlaw

I take a deep breath as I raise my fist to knock. This is a big step – one I probably should have taken a long time ago. But now it’s time. No doubt about it. If Claire and have any chance at a future, I have to do this.

“Be right there!” a voice calls from within. I have to shake my head and laugh at just how absurd this is. I said I’d never do this, but here I am. I guess it took this happening to Claire for me to fully understand.

The door swings open to reveal Bryant, better known as Agent Bryant, investigator for the FBI.

“Holy shit!” he exclaims. “Get the hell in here!”

He motions to me and I step inside. Quickly, he shuts and locks the door behind me.

“Christian! What the hell are you doing here?”

“Came to see you, Bryant.” I smirk. “Finally got what you’ve been asking for all this time.”

Bryant looks at me for a minute, frowns, then shakes his head.

“Nah. Nah, you wouldn’t. You said for years you wouldn’t.”

“Well, I will now.”

“You’re gonna snitch? You’re gonna snitch on your boys?”

“They’re not my boys,” I growl angrily. “I’m out, Bryant. For a while now. Surely you must have missed me.”

Bryant has been undercover for the Feds for several years now – maybe more. I caught him one night spying on us at Jesop’s. He was fixing his hidden microphone in the bathroom and looked at me like he thought I was going to kill him. He figured I’d rat him out and blow his cover, but I was already on my way out at that point. I told him I wouldn’t say anything to the Lions, but I also told him I wouldn’t snitch.

Big mistake. I can only imagine how many women have been harmed because of my inaction. But now it’s time to make that right.

“I was worried when you vanished,” he said. “Thought they might have buried you in the woods.”

“Worried about me, Bryant?” I chuckle. “I’m getting’ all teary eyed.”

“Yeah, fuck yourself.” He smiles. “Come into the kitchen. You want a beer?”

“I’ll take one,” I reply as I sit down at the table. He grabs a bottle from the fridge, pops the top, and hands it to me, then takes a seat across from me. “Thanks.”

“So what changed?” he asks. “You sure you want to do this? You know what could happen, right?”

“I’m not an idiot,” I reply, taking a swig. “But the Lions crossed the line. They’re trafficking in women now.”

Bryant sighs and nods. “Yeah, we’ve suspected as much for a while now. Haven’t been able to get to any of the girls and get them to talk. We’d need someone in the inside.”

“I’ll wear a wire,” I tell him. “But I’ll need backup. There was a little…confrontation at the clubhouse the other night. They won’t be too happy to see me.”

“Yeah, we heard about that,” Bryant replies. He’s eyeing me with a mix of suspicion and excitement. This could be the big break in the case the Feds have been looking for. “When do you wanna do this?”

“Tonight,” I tell him. The longer we wait, the longer Claire is in danger, and I can’t allow that. “Can you get a team together?”

“Yes,” he says emphatically. I can tell by his tone that it’s going to be hard to do, but he’s not about to let this opportunity pass him by. “You just tell me when and where and we’ll be there.”

“The clubhouse,” I tell him. “Tonight. Nine o’clock.” I swallow the rest of my beer and set the bottle down. “And, Bryant, if I go in there and your boys don’t back me up, I’m a dead man.”

I get up and head for the door. Bryant follows after me.

“Christian,” he asks. “You’ve changed, man. What happened?”

“I met someone,” I tell him. “And she made me realize who it is I’m supposed to be.”

She’s gonna be mad at me. I was short with her after the encounter with my mom and I shouldn’t have been. On the way home, I stop at the store and buy a small bouquet of flowers. I don’t even know what they are, but they look nice to me. Hopefully she’ll like them too.

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